Dusting off the earthy sounds of American old-timers Hobart Smith, Dock Boggs and Dink Roberts, as well as Irish singer Margaret Barry, London-based Jacken Elswyth lets their influence flood their consciousness and weave itself into 7 stirring tracks. Side-stepping any revivalism, Jacken allows each track the space to trail its own path, letting the spindling strings of their banjo knot their own patterns and colours. With occasional accompaniment by shruti box and melodeon, there's a trance like nature to each proceeding, situating Jacken's work firmly in the tradition of the "avant-folk" (see Henry Flynt's experiments in country music), but very much tempered to their own voice, as if the listener is being given an intimate private view to Jacken's memories: both past and present.
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Jacken Elswyth / banjo
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Recorded and mixed by Jacken Elswyth. Mastered by Oli Barrett.
Cover design by Oli Barrett from a photo by Molly Budd.
Available as 320k MP3 or 24bit FLAC
Tracklisting:
1. Scene 1, after Hobart Smith - 5:58
2. Scene 2, after Dock Boggs - 4:06
3. Scene 3, after Dink Roberts - 3:02
4. Scene 4a - 5:49
5. Scene 4b - 3:27
6. Scene 5 - 4:43
7. Scene 6, after Margaret Barry - 4:49
Jacken Elswyth is a London-based folk musician, banjo player, and instrument builder. In her music making she is focused on exploring traditional tunes, developing extrapolations on folk styles and techniques, and investigating drone, ambience, and improvisation within and beyond folk music. Her debut album At Fargrounds (Wrong speed Records, 2024) was described as a ‘folk-thesis for our times’ by The Quietus.
